Happy 2019! The new year is a great time for reflection so here's my reflection on our second VALOR seminar. The seminar gave me the opportunity for many firsts: exploring the Tidewater area; seeing pork and peanut processing; "driving" a self-driving tractor; and driving over/under/through the Chesapeake Bay on the Bridge-Tunnel. I enjoyed the time… Continue reading People: Value, Opportunity & Challenges
VALOR stands for Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results. Although our platform is agriculture we will be evaluating leadership in the industry and ourselves. For Session II we completed the Strengths Finder Assessment. It is a 100+ questionnaire and out of a bank of 34 options you are given a ranking of your top 5 Strengths.… Continue reading Soar With Your Strengths, Manage Your Weaknesses
The Suffolk/Eastern Shore Valor trip was eye opening, not in amazement, but in reality of the scope of capitalism, consumerism and class. I’ll probably do several blogs, so this doesn’t turn out to be half the length of War and Peace. ( I didn't do multiple blogs, its long, i'd suggest napping between paragraphs) I’d… Continue reading When your skin is your sin, it’s all about the skin you are in…
In January, I had the honor of representing Virginia in the National Farm Bureau's Discussion Meet where one of the topics was world trade and trade agreements. This experience and the recent issues with trade deals has brought exporting specifically to my attention. Many are unaware of the amount of agriculture exporting Virginia does itself… Continue reading Virginia Exporting to the World
On November 8, 2018, Dell Cotton introduced our VALOR Class to the world of Virginia Peanuts. Dell Cotton is the manager of the Peanut Growers Cooperative Marketing Association and executive secretary of the Virginia Peanut Growers Association. Virginia at one time had around 75,000 acres in 2002 with a government quota system much like tobacco. … Continue reading Virginia Peanuts
Have you ever wondered how Virginia’s agriculture and forestry products make it around the world? How about how Virginia’s imports make it into the state. My wife just answered NO! But I am going to tell you anyway. The Port of Virginia plays a pivotal role in moving our agriculture and forestry products to far-flung… Continue reading Perdue Agribusiness Deepwater Port
Growing up, I always heard that tractors are very easy to drive. Needless to say, I can’t recall ever sitting in the driver’s seat, much less drive a tractor. On a cold wet evening at the Rogers farm that was about to change or, so I thought. Mr. Rogers was gracious enough to introduce us… Continue reading There are tractors and then there are TRACTORS! This is a story about the latter!
When you think about Virginia agriculture, it is hard to find a more successful story than Smithfield Foods. They graciously opened their doors to our VALOR group earlier this month to show us the ins and outs of their operation. Brief Overview Smithfield Foods started in 1936 as Smithfield Packing Company in Smithfield, VA. Since… Continue reading Smithfield Foods- The World’s Largest Pork Processor
Ronald Daughtrey, agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor at Lakeland High School, hosted VALOR Class IV fellows on Thursday evening of our second seminar. While holding up a Snickers bar, Mr. Daughtrey asked the group what the most expensive input is for it- peanuts, chocolate, etc. What's your guess? See below for the answer. He challenged… Continue reading Dinner at Lakeland High School
Last week our cohort class IV of the VALOR program made our first traveling trip to the tidewater and eastern shore region. I had never been to that part of the state prior to last week and I can’t wait to return. We were met with open arms from all our host and it was… Continue reading Uncommon Kindness is a Common Virtue
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